Taking Mental Health To The Next Level

"Positive work conditions, like fair treatment, recognition, meaningful work and social support allow employees to become engaged and thrive at work. These work conditions may enable workers to find value in their lives and reduce the need to self-medicate with alcohol and other drugs,” Chosewood says. “They may also increase the experience of positive emotions, which tend to be associated with increased creativity and a broader perspective on problem-solving that may help develop skills and resources needed to initiate and maintain recovery."

It’s work that leadership can initiate simply by being open and honest: “It is also impactfully compelling when leaders and peers in the workplace are willing to share their own mental health challenges and successes,” Bob says. “Anyone and everyone can experience traumatic events,” Bob says, “and PTSD is very treatable.”

Josh Ierna is safety manager at Tilcon Connecticut Inc., where the company has implemented NIOSH’s Total Worker Health®. The program aims to protect workers by looking at work conditions broadly and including mental health to approach health and safety with preventative measures.

Now we're at the same place with that next step. We're going to see the same statistics, regardless of the resources we talk about if we just keep running businesses the same exact way in the industry, especially at a time when the labor demand is at all-time highs,” Josh says. “It's not sustainable. Something's got to give here.

It is estimated that 15% of construction workers have a substance use disorder compared to 8.6% of the general U.S. population.While there are differences between substance use disorder and dependency, the two are connected and can affect just about anyone. There is a stigma attached to substance use disorders and mental health, but you can’t always tell by looking at someone what they’re struggling with at home.

The high rates of substance use disorder and overdose in industries like construction and mining are not an indictment of the workers who take these jobs. Rather, this is an urgent call to identify workplace factors that may contribute to these devastating outcomes and how those may be modified to prevent illness, injury and death and promote employee health and well-being.

Barry’s journey highlights a vital message: mental wellness needs to be a priority in the construction industry. It’s not just about improving productivity but about genuinely caring for the workforce that builds our world. Leaders must take a proactive approach, advocating for and implementing practices that support mental wellness. The future of the industry depends on its ability to evolve, ensuring that its workers are healthy in mind as well as body.

Construction Safety Week (May 6-10, 2024) is an annual event that brings attention to the critical importance of safety in the construction industry. Traditionally, the focus of Safety Week has been on physical safety—preventing accidents, promoting proper equipment usage and fostering a culture of caution on job sites. However, an often-overlooked aspect of construction safety is the mental well-being of workers.

Sometimes there are signs that indicate a person may have depression or suicidal thoughts. However, every person’s risk is different and there are also other mental health concerns that are prevalent in construction: substance use disorder, anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In the construction industry, suicide and depression are important topics to understand because construction workers are at a high risk for these mental health conditions.

Off the job site, men die by suicide four times more than women and research confirms what we all know: there’s a stigma with men discussing mental health. Add that on top of the fact that the construction industry is physically and mentally taxing, it sadly makes sense that construction has high rates of suicide. However, the good news is that is changing.

There is a clear need for mental health resources in the construction industry—and at all levels. Mental health is connected to physical health and should be we tackle physical safety concerns. Fortunately, there are people in the construction industry who are passionate about helping others

Sadly, the construction industry has one of the highest suicide rates in the U.S. This is found at all levels of the industry. Suicide is nuanced and often directly tied to opioid use, but is still a huge issue. The suicide rate in construction is twice that of working men in the U.S.

Kim MacDonald, Founder and CEO of 13 FACTORS For Business Growth, says the best approach to influencing mental health in the workplace has two sides. One focuses on ensuring that individuals are supported when they have a mental health issue or illness. The other is psychological health and safety interventions that consider the risk factors and hazards that are present in the organization.

OSHA has developed a webpage dedicated to suicide prevention in the construction industry. The page includes links to resources that help raise suicide awareness, as well as provide tools and tips to help both employers and employees address mental health-related issues. The Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention also offers effective resources designed to help raise awareness. As this great organization points out, it’s important for each individual construction company to make mental health a focal point.